The US Dollar Has A Rocky Time Against The Euro

This news story from the CNBC website, dated Friday 6th March, shows that not all is calm and serene when it comes to the US dollar.  Some people appear to view the US currency as being virtually untouchable, but of course we know that this isn’t true.  You only need to read this story – at http://www.cnbc.com/id/29536074 - to see that the US dollar can have bad days from time to time!

And it has had its fair share of ups and downs against the Euro of late.  February was certainly an interesting month, starting as it did on 0.7802 Euros to the dollar.  It had slid down to 0.7782 just two days later; prompting those who were using a currency converter to wonder what figures would come next.

It perked up again to 0.7801 the very next day, and finished on 0.7814 for the week.  But the Euro came back and got in a good start the next week, pushing the US dollar back down to 0.7687 on the Monday.  The exchange rate crept into the 0.77 region soon after but it never got above that for the rest of that week.

The US dollar showed more strength as the week of the 16th began though.  On that day it finished on 0.7833, and it improved to a figure of 0.7939 at the midweek point.  A lack of attention on Thursday was soon swept aside as the Euro was taken by surprise on Friday.  The dollar finished strongly and managed to close out the week on 0.7942.  This was just a small amount short of the 0.80 exchange rate that would be highly preferably, but good enough to finish a good week nonetheless.

As February came to a close it looked as if the US dollar had the upper hand over the Euro.  The closing exchange rate between the two currencies for February was 0.7908.  The American dollar even managed to improve on that slightly as the next week – and indeed the next month – got underway, with a figure of 0.7939.  But it just couldn’t get through that 0.80 barrier.  The closest it got was on the 4th March, when the exchange rate finished up on 0.7964 – just 0.0036 away from the 0.80 mark.  The dollar was so near and yet so very far away from it.

But as March has progressed it looks as if the US dollar is slipping slightly in the standards it set for itself during February.  At the time of writing, on the 13th March, it has lost touch with the 0.79 exchange rate territory and looks set to lose touch with 0.78 territory for a while too.  Of course you never quite know what could happen next so we could be proved wrong here.  Only time will tell.

But on the 9th March the dollar bagged 0.7958 Euros, and the very next day that had slipped markedly to 0.7822.  There was very little movement between the two currencies over the next couple of days, but on the 13th it was the US dollar that lost out.  That was when the week ended on the exchange rate of 0.7748 Euros to the dollar, and we were left wondering where things would go next.

Of course it would be foolish to think that the US dollar has and always will be the strongest currency of the lot.  We will always see weak periods just as we will see strong ones.  But as the Euro in particular is having a rough time of it lately, it is particularly interesting to see the US dollar having a blip against it.

As the situation with the currency markets continues to develop, and everyone gets more used to the idea of being in a recession, we can expect more changes to come.  The US dollar may still be widely regarded as a strong currency - and one of the world’s foremost currencies too - but how long will it stay that way?  This current financial situation, arising as it did largely because of events in America, has proven that virtually anything can and will happen in these times.

And as such we must just wait to see what unfolds next.